“My intention is not to raise taxes.” It’s a line that Mariano Rajoy’s critics will repeat back at him for years to come. Much like George H. W. Bush’s infamous “Read my lips: no new taxes”, Rajoy’s pledge, made on December 19, during the debate ahead of his investiture as Spain’s new prime minister, has proved to be empty. Unlike Bush, Rajoy has not resisted or dragged his feet in performing a spectacular U-turn on this issue. Eleven days after saying he wouldn’t raise taxes, his deputy prime minister, Soraya Sáenz de Santamaría, announced tax increases that will bring in an extra €6 billion this year. As Spaniards digest the implications of the new Popular Party government’s … [Read more...] about Read my lips: Why did Rajoy break one of his few campaign promises?
spain debt crisis. spanish deficit
Who will be in charge for Rajoy’s great Spanish clean-up?
In 2002, when the Prestige oil tanker sank off the coast of Galicia, Mariano Rajoy was the Popular Party (PP) government’s official spokesman and was designated to oversee the handling of the crisis. The administration faced heavy criticism from some quarters for its management of the event, not least when Rajoy asserted that the spill, which would eventually see 20 million gallons of oil pour into the sea, had produced little more than “little threads of oil that look like plasticine”. Nine years on, Rajoy faces an even bigger task: to clean up Spain’s finances and oversee its economic recovery, while maintaining the support of sceptical Spaniards and the approval of a crisis-ravaged … [Read more...] about Who will be in charge for Rajoy’s great Spanish clean-up?